Remember
by QuixoticQuest
Summary: The years were bliss, they were simply children learning about the force and didn't notice the changes... for better or worse. When the time comes for those who have forgotten to remember... can they? A/T, J/Z, J/TK. AU. Mostly friendship, some romance.
1. Introduction and AN

Hey All! It's Don (who else- unless Darth Vader was using my computer for some reason, ha, ha).

Anyhoo, this story is probably a bit different from the other stories I've done so far (probably because it focuses on an AU of all the characters from YJK and some others and not quite on the same level of angst and dark themes as my other work).

This story will also be a bit lighter hearted and its focus will be on the characters as they grow up from a younger age (than the original YJK) and offers a new view on how the characters could have met each other had things been different (you'll see what I mean when I post the first chapter- probably this weekend, so keep checking this story or add it to your story alert).

I think I'll not have this story be any more intense than a T rating (I always rate up to be safe, but just so everyone knows, it will most likely not get anywhere near as mature as my Namesake series).

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy "Remember"- which I guarantee will be up (at least the first chapter- please note I am running two other stories too- so if you review you'll see me posting faster because if I know someone's waiting, I definitely respond faster and push past any writer's block I have).

Have a great rest of the week, Everyone!

-Don ^_^

PS- If someone can bring at least five steady readers to at least one of my stories and get them to review it, that person will get virtual cookies from me and I might consider telling you my last name (which is more than most people will ever know on this site). =)


	2. First Meetings

_A/N- Hey Everyone, I got to writing the first chapter sooner than I thought (please note that this is super rough and I'm still doing a lot of development on the story and I will make changes accordingly- any feedback is of course welcome (you know the drill: I don't appreciate flames any more than anyone else does). Oh, and remember this is AU so I will have changed a lot of the details about the characters (though the initial personalities of the characters will remain the same). _

_Also, I changed the ages around a bit from the original description. It didn't make sense to have them be overly young or there wouldn't be that much I could do to develop the characters._

_This is mostly an introductory chapter to set the scene for the story, but I tried to make it as un-boring as possible. _

_Thanks for reading and please review! _

_-Don "QuixoticQuest" ^_^_

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**Chapter 1**

**First Meetings**

This was a huge mistake. Or at least the whole surroundings that the young boy with brown hair that fell in straight bangs across his face and the bag slung across his shoulder, thought as he saw his two siblings already getting used to their new home.

If anything, he immediately knew that he'd want to leave. There was nothing here for him here. No fun machinery to tinker with or puzzles to solve. He even wondered if he wanted to be a Jedi in the first place. After all, he had spent his entire life wondering when his name would cause him to lose every last person he cared about. This all came from the sharp mind of a eight year old, one who wouldn't put it past anyone to understand his internal plights.

"Anakin," The boy's older sister, with long brown hair and brandy colored eyes, said. At age ten, Jaina Solo was already well adjusted to the idea of being a Jedi. She'd found early on that her talents lay with machinery, not too unlike her younger brother. On the contrary, her twin brother, Jacen, was immediately fascinated with the forest below the platform of the Academy's docking bay. "We're going to go to our rooms," She took one look at her brother's face and didn't need the force to know Anakin wasn't exactly in the mood to go anywhere. Jaina touched her brother's mind with hers through the force, "You going to be okay out here?"

"I'll be fine," He replied flatly. Jaina decided it was time to leave Anakin alone, which she did. As she made her way down the hallway, she was stopped by the blonde haired form of her uncle, Luke Skywalker.

"Uncle Luke," Jaina said with a grin. Jacen arched his eyebrows at his sister, only he could hear what she was thinking at the moment and right now that was a topic he knew he had to tell her not to broach. Jacen sent a warning to his twin through the force. Jaina glared at Jacen then turned back to her uncle.

"You weren't at the platform," Jaina said. Luke sighed.

"I know, I got caught up in a last minute class," Luke grimaced. Leia would not be happy with him. He knew the Solo children were probably far too young to be enrolled at his Academy, but Luke was sure that he was right in taking them now before their force talents got too much out of hand.

"Where's Anakin?" Luke inquired. Jaina elbowed Jacen before he could say something. Jaina knew Anakin wanted to be alone and shrugged an answer to her uncle's question. Though Luke could sense the lie, he didn't say anything about it and simply nodded.

"Well, I'll show you two your rooms," Luke lead the way down the hallway, stopping after a while at two doors on opposite sides of the hallway, but diagonal from one another. "Jacen, you're in here," Luke gestured to the door on the right, "Jaina, here." Luke smiled at them.

"I tried to put your rooms as close together as possible so that you could contact each other if need be. There'll be a general gathering at about five before dinner. I'll explain more details about the Academy then," He glanced from his niece to his nephew, "I think it'd be a good idea for both of you to visit the lunchroom before then to get to know the other students."

Jacen rolled his eyes, "Socializing? No thanks, Uncle Luke." Jacen turned on his heel and walked into his new room and closed the door behind him. Jaina, exasperated at how secluded both her brothers were. Anakin was always like that, but Jacen was acting outright strange. Jaina intended to approach him about it. But not while their uncle was still around and listening.

Luke then took his leave, sensing that his niece and nephew needed time to adjust to their new living quarters. He also wanted to find his youngest nephew. A task, no doubt, would take time. When Anakin didn't want to be found, he wasn't.

Indeed, Anakin Solo at that moment did not go to a place that anyone would think of looking or for that matter, going upon their first visit to the Academy. He strode lightly through the jungle below, careful not to catch his clothes on any of the trees. When he got to a certain point where he was sweating from walking for a long time in the heat, he stopped and leaned against a tree. Ice blue eyes flicked around the tree to notice the small form sitting against another tree, carving designs into a piece of bark, with a groan Anakin turned around with every intention of leaving. He didn't want to know who this person was or why she was all the way out here in the jungle carving force knew what into a piece of tree bark.

"You're from the Academy aren't you?" The girl's voice caught Anakin in mid-step. She didn't look up from the work she was doing on the bark but simply cast Anakin a furtive glance to reveal her emerald green eyes hidden beneath a mass of wild golden yellow hair.

"Yeah," Anakin replied, deciding he'd just end this conversation before it got any further than he wanted it to.

"The least you could do is say hello. It's the polite thing to do when you notice other people around you. I've done it many times today actually. Then it just got boring so I came out here, what about you?" The girl paused and Anakin sucked in his breath. Of all the people he had to run into, it had to be someone who talked non-stop.

"I came out here to be alone." He stated honestly. The girl narrowed her eyes at him.

"Now why would you want to do that?"

"Because I want to be alone," Anakin replied as though she was clearly ignoring the whole point of his previous statement. What was with this girl? It wasn't like he was going to tell her his life story just because she asked. For some reason, Anakin got the feeling she would ask and not in the far off future either.

"Oh, you do?" She said with a hint of gentle curiosity in her tone, "That's a bit lonely, though, I'd get lonely if I did that all the time. It's not an easy thing being by yourself, that's why I'm so happy that I'm here. I wanted to meet more people and well, here you are."

Anakin felt himself getting annoyed but calmed down enough to say, "I really don't want to talk."

"Well, that's silly," The girl replied, putting the bark down and standing up, pausing to brush the dirt off her knees. She put out her hand, "I'm Tahiri Veila, what's your name?"

Anakin honestly could not think of a worse thing than telling this girl his name, and then she'd never leave him alone. "Look, I'm pretty sure you don't want to know me and-"

"Dummy," She said with a light laugh that sounded bubbly, "I wouldn't have told you my name if I didn't want to get to know you," She fixed him with a stare, "Well?"

Anakin blinked for a moment. He hadn't exactly had the best time in the past with other kids. None of them, after hearing his name or meeting him period, wanted to get to know him. His name was always the turn off. Not once did someone not recognize a name like Anakin, and Anakin didn't expect this girl to be any different. _Well, if it's going to be same, what have I got to lose? _

"I'm Anakin Solo," He replied, taking her still outstretched hand. He waited for her negative reaction but it didn't come.

"Anakin, huh?" She smiled brightly, "I like that name."

"Jacen," Jaina pounded on his door. Honesty her brother could be such a pain sometimes. _No, scratch that, all the time. _The door didn't open and Jacen didn't respond. _I guess I'll have to do this the hard way. _

"What are you doing?" A voice questioned from behind. Jaina turned around to face another girl around the same age as herself and Jacen. The girl had bright red hair that fell in locks and natural corkscrew curls around the front of her face. She wore a leather shirt and pants and Jaina could see this girl was hardly the lazy type. In fact she was the opposite. Granite eyes met Jaina's brandy.

"Breaking down the door will not give you any satisfaction, a Jedi should know that." The girl stated plainly. Jaina's mouth twitched.

"I'm not doing it because I'm angry, I'm trying to get my idiot brother out here," Jaina snorted in irritation. The other girl stepped forward and with a small knife she pulled from her pocket, picked the lock open. They stood in silence.

"I'm Jaina Solo," Jaina said, extending her hand. The other girl nodded and took Jaina's hand.

"I am Tenel Ka Djo, a pleasure to meet you, Jaina Solo." The door then swung open and Jacen's scowling face came out.

"Hey, Jaina, what are you-?" He paused as he noticed the other girl. "Who is she?"

"This," Jaina said with a frown at her brother's rudeness, "Is Tenel Ka." Tenel Ka looked at Jacen who stood with his jaw slightly open. He shut it.

"Well, don't fire blaster bolts, Jaina, I was just asking a question," Jacen smiled at Tenel Ka, "My sister can be a bit of a hutt sometimes, but you get over it."

"I do not follow. She is a hutt?" Tenel Ka asked. "Jaina looks nothing like a hutt." Jacen shook his head.

"Never mind, it was a joke." Jacen explained. Seeing that she still didn't get it, Jacen abruptly changed the subject. "I'm Jacen," He held out his hand. Tenel Ka once again shook hands.

"It is good to meet you, Jacen," Tenel Ka regarded him for a second. It occurred to her that she didn't bother to put Jacen's last name, which she already knew was Solo because of Jacen's sister, Jaina, at the end of his name when she said it. On Hapes, upon first meeting someone, you never used just their first name. Tenel Ka immediately spoke to remedy her mistake.

"I apologize, I did not use your last name," She said to Jacen, who turned to her, his brandy eyes shining brightly.

"What?" He smiled at her, a broad grin that Tenel Ka was sure she had never seen the likes of on Hapes. "Don't worry about that. Just call me Jacen."

"Jacen," Tenel Ka said his name as though unsure if saying it would harm her in some way.

Jacen caught her tone, "It's not a dumb name, is it?" He asked, a tad nervously. Tenel Ka shook her head.

"No, this is not a fact. It is a good name." Tenel Ka then checked her chrono. "I must go now." She inclined her head to her two new acquaintances and was off down the hall. It was too soon now to say they were friends. Tenel Ka was sure that once they found out who she was, they would not want to get to know her further.

Jacen watched Tenel Ka leave. Something about this girl was different from all the others he'd met while with his parents on Coruscant. Maybe that she was overly formal and didn't understand that Jacen was joking. At least everyone else had understood Jacen's attempt at jokes but rolled their eyes or told him it wasn't funny.

"Galaxy to Jacen," Jaina waved her hand in front of Jacen's face.

"What?" He shook his mind from its reverie.

"I was asking if you were interested in going to the cafeteria. Uncle Luke said we could meet some other students there," Jaina watched her brother's face and sensed his mind was elsewhere.

"You go ahead, I think I'm going to go wander around," Jacen replied. Jaina didn't even know what to think as Jacen trapeezed off, though Jaina could guess she knew why. He couldn't get his head around the fact that a girl for once hadn't understood his joke and also didn't even realize it was a joke in the first place. Jaina chuckled to herself as she entered the cafeteria. It was mostly empty except for a few students in orange jumpsuits and most of them were all clumped together. Except for the one boy sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, his messy, greasy hair falling around his head, and his sharp green eyes focused on trying to lift a piece of food with his mind. The boy looked a few years older than Jaina. He had to be at least thirteen years old. A fact which Jaina found a little disquieting because she only knew other people close to her age when she was growing up on Coruscant, Jaina's attention went up as a piece of food finally shot across the room and hit one of the other kids in the back. The victim, a boy with a burly and thick face swung his legs over the bench and strode over to the dark haired boy.

"Did you use the force to throw this?" The burly boy asked.

"It isn't illegal to use the force here, you know," The messy haired boy stared the other boy down.

"I'm from a family where junk like you belongs serving us food, so don't try it again," The burly boy stated, prodding the dark haired boy in the chest. In an instant the entire tray had upended itself all over the burly boy's front, all without the dark haired boy touching it. In fact he was leaning back on the bench, not really paying attention.

"That's it!" The burly threw the tray aside and leapt at the dark haired boy, landing a punch on the dark haired boy's jaw, then his eye. Jaina didn't waste any time. She caught the next punch and then landed two in the burly boy's gut, then sent him backwards with a kick. The burly boy tried staring Jaina down from his position but she just regarded him with disinterest.

"You're not a girl," He spat then got up and ran from the cafeteria. Jaina shrugged.

"And you're not a boy or a Jedi," She muttered after him. Then she turned to see the dark haired boy had already pulled himself up.

"You didn't have to jump in, you know," He grumbled. "I could handle it."

"Your idea of handling it is being beat up?" Jaina asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I was waiting for a chance to hit him," The boy argued, then grunted. He turned his head away from her. "You don't get it."

Jaina folded her arms across her chest. "What don't I get?" She frowned, "I'm not stupid, you know."

He turned his green eyes away, "I know."

Jaina had to do a double take. "You do?" She wasn't exactly sure what this boy was getting at.

"You're Jaina Solo, right?" He asked. She nodded silently, "I've heard about your family. None of you are stupid and none of you are without talent."

"What's your point?" Jaina asked. The boy's green eyes came up to level with Jaina's.

"You 're better off than me," He said, the bitterness in his voice was evident. Jaina punched him in the arm and not too lightly either. He grimaced.

"Just because I'm from a Jedi oriented family doesn't mean I'm better or worse than you are. Look at what you did to that other kid," She raised her eyebrow. "That has to count for something."

The boy laughed at her calling the burly boy, who was obviously older than she was, a kid. "I guess."

"What's your name?" Jaina asked.

"You don't want to know." He replied. Jaina arched her eyebrows.

"Just because I won't know who your family is, doesn't mean I don't want to know." Jaina pointed out.

"Well, that's good, because I don't know either," He said, "I'm Zekk."

"Zekk," Jaina repeated. "Do you want to meet my brother?" She questioned. He brightened a little.

"Sure." He then followed Jaina out of the cafeteria, not bothering to notice the eyes of the other students on their backs as they left.

**A/N- Like I said, it's rough and it's mostly introductory stuff. Let me know what you think. I did my own interpretations of the meetings of the characters, so the first impressions are different (and plus, in YJK, Zekk is already friends with Jacen and Jaina- here he's meeting both of them for the first time).**


	3. Lessons You Can't Learn from a Master

**Chapter 2**

**Lessons You Can't Learn from a Master**

_A/N- You know I have to say I find writer's block to be all too common these days. It's inconsistent too so I don't know when the ugly beast will strike. Ackk!!!!! You know what I mean? _

_*Sigh* So I just decided, "what the heck?" and decided to just write this chapter and see what happens since I've not posted in a long time. Well, here's the result, and I did try my best to push it forward (for some reason I'm having plenty of trouble finding where to go with this so I'm just letting the story go where it will). If it turns out weirdly- write your complaints to my writer's block- it'd love to hear from you._

_(Excuse the sarcasm)._

_At least listening to the soundtrack from "Avenue Q" is making me ironically happy. Ha, ha. _

_Ahem, now for the feature presentation._

_May the Schwartz be with you! (LOL Space Balls)._

_-Don =)_

* * *

"Let's see-" Anakin muttered as he reached into the mess of wires and metal only to be zapped, "Ouch," He pulled his hand out and grunted his frustration. After class became a frustratingly endless series of "Oh, your name's Anakin?" and "Watch out, he might use the dark side on you!" Anakin ditched training for the docking bay.

He rubbed his hand gingerly after removing his glove. The burn had gone through the fabric of the glove and burned his hand. Anakin examined his hand, medicine wasn't his specialty. Anakin nearly jumped as a hand grabbed his injured hand.

"Yeesh, you really burned yourself badly. Don't you try to protect yourself or anything?" Tahiri came around to get a better look at Anakin's hand. "It's not too bad, you could have burned through another layer of skin," She reached into the pouch she carried around her waist and pulled out some healing salves and applied them to Anakin's hand.

"Exactly why aren't you in class?" Anakin and Tahiri said at the same time. Anakin averted his gaze.

"Because I don't want to be," He answered shortly. Tahiri frowned.

"That's not a good reason."

"Nothing's a good reason for you."

"Maybe, maybe not," Tahiri said contemplatively, and then tried to get a look in Anakin's eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Anakin replied flatly.

"Anakin," She said fiercely, "I can tell when you're lying. We're both Jedi, you know."

"You are but I'm not," Anakin said coolly. Tahiri gave him confused look.

"Why not? You're as much of a Jedi as I am, I mean we're both still training but we're on the same page and all, it's not like you're behind me or anything. Even if you are you can always work hard to catch up."

Anakin sighed, "That's not what I meant," His blue eyes shrunk as he gave a resigned sigh.

"Then what did you mean?" Tahiri questioned.

"That nobody expects me to be anything but a Sith," Anakin muttered. Tahiri's sharp hearing caught the words.

"Sith? How can you be a Sith? I may not have seen a Sith before but I know you're the last person to be a Sith lord."

Anakin gazed at Tahiri for a second, "Why's that?"

She flashed him a smile, "Because, you're a Dummy."

Anakin twitched at that, "I'm a what?"

"A Dummy, you can't be a Sith if you're stupid."

Anakin's eyebrow went up at that, "Excuse me?"

"You're stupid, see," Tahiri repeated, poking Anakin in the chest and then on his forehead, temporarily stunning Anakin beyond words. "Because you came out here to be alone instead of taking your pain out on others, I don't think Sith are stupid enough to shoulder their troubles themselves."

"Huh," Anakin said reflectively, she had a point. But the whole calling him stupid was still ticking him off. "Fair enough," He grinned, "But I'm not sure I like the whole idea of being called Dummy."

"Sorry, the name stuck," Tahiri replied with a flippant shrug. Anakin arched his brow.

"Then what should I call you?"

"My name," Tahiri said, "What else?"

"I think I like Shoeless," He glanced down at her feet, "Better."

Tahiri shrugged, "It's a fact, so it works for me, Dummy." Her green eyes met Anakin's. He then glanced up as his Uncle made his way over.

"Uncle Luke," Anakin said. Tahiri turned her head too.

"Here you are, Anakin, your mother would have killed me if I'd lost you," Luke sighed in relief. "Why did you suddenly leave class?"

Anakin shook his head, "I needed some time to meditate but I'm okay now." When Tahiri wasn't looking Anakin cast a small smile her way. Luke nodded.

"Well, good, because we're starting sparring exercises now," Luke gestured and started back for the Academy training center where the sparring would take place.

* * *

Jacen never knew what regret was until he challenged Tenel Ka Djo to a sparring match. He had always been evenly matched with Jaina but now he was sorely outmatched. For the fifth time that day Tenel Ka flicked Jacen's wooden sword from his hands and knocked him down on the ground, hard. He rubbed his back and then pushed himself up. Determination flashed in his brandy brown eyes as Jacen picked up his sword and got ready to fight Tenel Ka once more. He watched her fluid movements and used the little force he could control to predict her movements, but unlike Jaina, who Jacen could sense clearly, Jacen couldn't get as much of a read on Tenel Ka. He grunted and with a few steps blocked the first three attacks from Tenel Ka's sword before turning around and attempting the offensive.

Which landed him on the ground when Tenel Ka reacted with lightening reflexes and slammed her blade into Jacen's and sent him flying backwards into a nearby tree.

"Jacen!" Jaina looked up from her match with Zekk and rushed over. Tenel Ka's expression was unreadable as usual but she watched Jaina as she checked Jacen, both with the force and looked him over. He was unconscious already and Jaina wasn't about to waste any time waiting around for Uncle Luke to get back. Jaina began to lift Jacen when a hand gripped her shoulder.

"Allow me, it was my blow that produced this situation, I will take him to the infirmary," Tenel Ka said, surprising Jaina a little.

"Um, sure," Jaina said and backed away letting Tenel Ka in one fell swoop lift Jacen up as though he were a feather weight, which Jaina knew he was not. There wasn't any way that was true, not with all the food she'd seen her brother intake. Or more accurately, watched Jacen inhale. But Tenel Ka seemed to not notice this. If she did, she seemed to not care at least on the surface.

Tenel Ka reached the infirmary door and entered, quickly explaining to the doctor, Cilghal, what had happened. Cilghal smiled and shook her head. She took Jacen and put him on the examination table and checked him for permanent damage, and finding none, turned to Tenel Ka.

"He'll be just fine. You should go back to class," Cilghal turned to see Tenel hadn't moved. "Suit yourself then. It's not your fault, though."

"It is my fault and therefore my responsibility," Tenel Ka said stubbornly. Cilghal shrugged and continued with her work.

Back at the outdoor sparring arena, Jaina was fighting vigorously at Zekk who was proving to be a difficult opponent. But not enough, apparently, for Jaina Solo who promptly turned, twisted, pivoted and blocked with clean transition before whacking Zekk into the dirt. He looked up at her.

"You don't go easy, do you?" He asked with a frown. She shrugged.

"I don't see why I should," She grinned at him, "You're already older than I am."

Zekk leapt to his feet, attacking with every intention of throwing Jaina off guard, but failed miserably at the point where he struck for her head but missed on account of the fact that Jaina was no longer standing where she had been a few seconds before. Zekk, as a result, did a face plant onto the ground. Jaina starting laughing and Zekk, in his irritation struck out at her leg and toppled Jaina to the ground.

"Ouch, you don't know how to take a joke, do you?" She muttered, brushing the dirt off her. Zekk turned his head away.

"Maybe I should fight Jacen instead," He muttered. Jaina raised her eyebrow at that.

"Jacen's a good fighter too but he just couldn't beat Tenel Ka," Jaina shook her head, "Bit off more than he could chew." Jaina turned her attention back to Zekk who had stood up and was walking away. "Hey, just because I won doesn't mean it's all over, Zekk."

Zekk whirled around, "To you, it's doesn't matter, but it matters to me."

Jaina blinked in confusion but before she could respond Zekk was already gone, fast walking back to his room. Jaina sighed. What was with Zekk? Losing once wasn't so bad. Jacen had lost many times to Jaina and he hadn't sulked. He'd laughed about it and renewed his vigor to beat her, but he never sulked.

Things were getting steadily more and more confusing.

Jacen blinked and turned his head then winced as it still hurt. He then saw out of the corner of his eyes, a blur of red. He moved his lower body instead of his head so he could see more properly. But the blur moved and soon Jacen was staring into Tenel Ka's granite colored eyes.

"Friend Jacen, you are awake," Tenel Ka said. Had she been there the whole time he was unconscious?

"You can really pack a hit, Tenel Ka," Jacen said in a weak but good humored voice. He grinned. Tenel Ka shook her head.

"I hurt you, I should not have tried so hard."

"I'm glad you did. Gives me something to work for," Jacen replied simply. "I'll make it my goal to beat you in a sparring match."

Tenel Ka frowned, "You are foolish, Friend Jacen, you could end up hurt once more."

He shrugged as much as his injured head would allow. "I'll live. I've been through much worse," He looked thoughtful, "Though your hits might be harder than Jaina's."

"This is no joking matter, Friend Jacen," Tenel Ka said exasperatedly. He chuckled.

"Sorry, but I'm not a very serious person," His brandy eyes challenged Tenel Ka's granite. She sighed.

"You are impossible."

"That's alright by me," He said, grinning broadly still. For some reason Tenel Ka found herself both infuriated and fascinated by this brown haired boy who didn't want to take anything seriously. This was sure to be an interesting time at the Academy.

**A/N- Don't worry, I'm just trying to build up to the action and conflict naturally that's why it's taking some time. Thanks for being patient! (Both my writer's block and I appreciate it). ^_^**


	4. Old Scars

**Chapter 3**

**Old Scars**

_A/N- Er…. What to say? I guess I should begin by apologizing for taking forever to update this story. It was mostly due to writer's block (I kind of started this story without knowing what the conflict was really, so that was a major problem). The other issue was that I had several other stories running at the exact same time as this one. I'm working to try to keep up with all of them, but my brain doesn't always give me ideas evenly, so sometimes it ends up that one story finishes before another because I have more ideas for that. _

_As some of you may already know, I recently finished my Namesake trilogy (of which I am very proud and I hope you all will check it out at some point). That series on its own has taken much of my time and energy (and admittedly I skipped out on homework most of my first year of college to write most of it). So… yeah, I'm not planning (or able for that matter) to pull off that stunt again. _

_My reason for mentioning this of course is that I will most likely only be updating my stories on weekends (unless I get some free time away from work during the week, which will only happen once my other work is done). I want to let all of you know now that I haven't forgotten this story and that I do plan to finish this story at some point. The timing rests solely on when I get homework and when finish it. _

_I appreciate your patience as I know there are authors out there who start awesome stories and then never get around to finishing them (which is sad because there are many out there that I'd like to see the end of myself). Basically I understand the feeling of anxiety when there's a story you want to see finished but you can't for whatever reason. My promise is that this story WILL be finished. The only question is when. _

_I also promise that it won't be too long since I will take the time to update it whenever possible. _

_That said, I apologize to any of you who suffered from a fan fiction condition known as "Suspense Anxiety Disorder" (where you suffer from constantly needing stories to be updated for whatever reason), I have that with a few stories I'm reading, so I understand completely. _

_Anyways, I hope all of you enjoy this update and I'm pleased to say I finally figured out the conflict (after much internal debate and eventually deciding to combine another one of my story idea's conflicts with this one). _

_As always, a pleasure writing for you all, _

_-Don ^_^_

_

* * *

_

Figuring out a plan that had been laid out over three decades ago was probably one of the more aggravating tasks for the man seated at the table with hundreds of documents and maps splayed out in front of him. He hadn't really thought that it would be hard. After all, the original maps and orders were fabricated by his grand uncle, how hard could it be?

The truth turned out that the task was not only difficult, but incredibly intricate. It would involve being able to foresee all the problems and flaws that his grand uncle overlooked. It would involve tricking some of the sharpest people in the galaxy into thinking they were safe. He cupped his chin, his eyes glowing with a new light. He had to predict what his intended targets would do before they did it. He would have to anticipate the improbable and he would have to outwit himself in order to know where his own loopholes were.

He would finish what his grand uncle began and this time, he grinned as the shadows of the room masked his eyes in darkness. This time, he would succeed where his uncle failed.

This time there was no room for failures.

"Okay, try running it again."

Tahiri reached over and pulled the lever to the machine and immediately the gears on the open panel began to turn and the machine gave a growl and lurched to a stop. She winced as she heard the curses coming from underneath the machine's belly.

"Hand me the toolkit," Anakin poked his head out and she handed him the small red box where Anakin kept all his tinkering tools. The reason why he'd decided to spend the afternoon working on this machine, that she wasn't even sure had a purpose, instead of attending one of the classes Tahiri could only guess. But after knowing Anakin for two years now she had gotten used to his mood swings or his need to be alone. The only difference was that he now wasn't completely alone when he decided to shut the rest of the galaxy out. Tahiri was rarely away from her friend and as far as either of them could tell, he didn't mind one bit.

She held on to the handle of the toolkit until Anakin had a firm grip on it. He then pulled it under the machine and after a few chinks and clanking noise he pulled out again and gave Tahiri the signal, his pointer finger angled upwards. She pulled the lever again and this time the machine roared to life. Anakin gave a satisfied smile as he stood up and wiped his grime covered face with a rag.

"Are you sure you don't want to go with me to the training session?" Tahiri asked, causing him to start and then turn his blue eyes onto her. He didn't say anything for a few minutes and then he nodded, turning his head and body away.

"I'm sure," The response was far too quiet to be truthful, but she wasn't about to argue when him when she could sense he wasn't ready to have this conversation. If anything, she'd begun to notice, as her force strength increased, just how little personal space there was to be had between Jedi, especially around Anakin. It was rare that she didn't sense his thoughts before he spoke them or if he was upset, angry, happy or just contemplative before he himself realized these feelings. The frightening part of it all was that he himself wasn't always aware of how many emotions had roiling around inside of him. She wasn't sure how much she should be concerned about and how much she should write off as "normal," Though time had taught her that Anakin Solo was anything but.

He powered down the machine and shifted the lever back to its original position before picking up the toolkit and walking down the clean floor of the docking bay. It was hard to believe that two years had already gone by since they arrived at the Academy and that all of them had grown more or less accustomed to it.

"What do you think Master Skywalker is going to teach us today?" She ventured when she got the distinct feeling that he wasn't going to broach any topics. He never did as far as she could tell.

"Probably the same thing as always," Anakin said, his expression remained stoic for a moment, the creases on his forehead showed he was troubled by something. Had she said something wrong?

"Same thing?" Tahiri questioned, frowning a little herself now.

"He always tells us to mind our anger and to watch what we use the force for, but how are we supposed to know what's right and wrong if we're not out there in the galaxy using it right now?"

Another trouble with Anakin Solo is that he always liked to ask the big questions, the ones that adults and senior Jedi tackled. Tahiri, of course, as a young trainee, had no idea how to answer these and she doubted Anakin did either which was why he was saying it out loud.

"Well, he's right, you know," She said calmly, "If he didn't say that or if he did and nobody was listening, well, that'd just miss the point, right? Or if he didn't say it clearly enough we'd all push it aside or something. What makes you think he's going to let us go out there right now, we're hardly ready for it and…"

Anakin let out a long sigh, "I know I'm not, okay?" The hostility and anger in his tone cut her off more than the words themselves. She blinked at him as he averted his gaze, his hands were shaking slightly and she couldn't figure out for the life of her why he was getting so upset. What had she missed or said to him? Silence fell between them and Tahiri couldn't find any words of consolation or argument because she had no idea what he was thinking for once. "I'm going back to my room." He stated and without waiting for a response he strode off back to the main building. Tahiri stood rooted on the spot, not sure what to do or say now that he'd just up and walked away.

He seemed to have a lot on his mind these days, even for him. It was a difficulty of being friends with such an introverted person to deal with his constant internal battles. She suspected that a lot of his mood changes had something to do with his heritage. Honestly she couldn't understand why he was so concerned with being related to Darth Vader, whoever he was. No matter how many times she asked Anakin to explain what it was that scared him, he always changed the subject or told her, "Later." It had gotten to the point where she decided to ask Anakin's siblings about it, but neither of them seemed to want to discuss it either.

Jaina at least gave a more thorough explanation than the rest, "Anakin should be the one to tell you when he's ready. But just so you know, Darth Vader was one of the most feared leaders of the Empire and he was the closest person to the Emperor himself." Jacen had simply laughed and told Tahiri not to worry about it too much. The male twin was hardly ever serious so Tahiri wasn't all that surprised. There were few things he ever didn't smile about or laugh about and when he did it was probably not a good sign. Tahiri had noticed when she mentioned Anakin's dark moods to his older brother that he seemed to have a pained smile on his face and the way his eyes looked off to the side when she asked about Darth Vader indicated there were more layers to this than anyone was willing to let on.

The mystery of it rested with Anakin and she about as much of a chance of breaking the code as she had with winning in a wrestling match against a bantha. She sighed and relented in her brain wracking. It wasn't very becoming of her to think about things as much as Anakin did. After all, one of them had to be the one to let go of life and let loose every now and again.

She looked up see the dark haired form of Zekk walking down the hallway. His eyes lifted slightly to look at her and for a second he seemed like he was going to walk right by her, but then he stopped, causing her to stop as he was blocking her path to her room.

"Anakin came by here a little while ago, is everything okay?" The older boy often came across as aggressive and unapproachable, but Tahiri had quickly noticed that this was mostly a front he put up.

"Well, I don't know, he was fine this morning, but then he started saying something about Master Skywalker repeating himself too much and I think he might be upset, but I don't know if he's doing okay, I haven't talked to him too much about it…" Zekk nodded, indicating that she didn't need to explain anymore.

"I'll see if I can't talk to him," Zekk said and clapped a hand on Tahiri's shoulder before heading away, most likely in the direction of Jaina's room. She continued walking, forcing her legs to move as they were still stiff from standing and holding the tools for Anakin while he worked on his latest project. Maybe Master Skywalker knew something. It was strange that she had never thought to ask him about it since Anakin was Luke's nephew and that Luke Skywalker had been, from what Tahiri had heard, the last person to see Darth Vader before his death. She had done some research and asked Tionne, the Jedi historian at the Academy, many questions on the subject. The answers were thorough enough but they still didn't explain why Anakin was so wrapped up in the idea of going to the dark side when it was plain as day, to her at least, that he wasn't anywhere near reaching that possibility.

If only he could see what she saw.

* * *

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Jacen asked and glanced warily around him. They were walking through the deep undergrowths of the jungle of Yavin 4 and so far he wasn't entirely sure what she was looking for or what they had gone into the jungle for in the first place. She had simply asked him to come with her that morning after class and Jacen, being the trustful and obliviously upbeat guy he was most of the time, readily agreed.

"I am sure, Friend Jacen," Tenel Ka replied in her usual calm and seemingly nonchalant demeanor. Jacen knew better than to think of her as indifferent and cold, but it was so hard to tell what she was thinking sometimes. They reached a clearly and Tenel Ka set down her bag and closed her eyes. For a second Jacen wondered if she had lost her mind, as unlikely as that seemed it happened to everyone at some point. Jaina was convinced, as she often informed Jacen, that he never had a mind to begin with. In those moments he couldn't be sure what had made her so abnormally punchy.

"Tenel Ka?" He said. She opened her eyes and then nodded. Maybe now he'd get an explanation.

"Something is coming," She stated. He blinked and then stared at her.

"What?"

"I thought I felt something this morning and I wanted to confirm it before I said anything to Master Skywalker," Tenel Ka and Jacen were silent for a moment before he spoke.

"What should we tell him?" Jacen asked. He wasn't sure what to say to his uncle about one of them sensing something. Tenel Ka was clearly very in touch with her force senses and it often seemed like he missed out on most of the things she felt. He reached out and something seemed to knock up against that little "stub" in his mind that triggered his force senses and responses. It was a faint rap but still very much there. "I feel it too."

"The truth," Tenel Ka said plainly, "If it is serious then we are responsible for informing the elders here." She often resorted to the strangest jargon when referring to the other Jedi, but Jacen knew better than to question why that was. He knew as little as anyone about who Tenel Ka was. He honestly couldn't tell if she was as modestly humble as she let on. But that question would have to wait. "Let us go." She stated and the two made their way back to the Academy as a large silhouette briefly hovered just in front of the sunlight and cast the entire jungle in darkness.

**A/N- More to come. I go on Winter Break next week, so I'll be updating more often then. =) Thanks for reading and for your patience! Please, please, please read the author's notes when I write them. I know they're long sometimes, but I write them for a reason and any information about the story that is crucial is included in them. This is ironic to put in an author's note, but I don't know what else to do. Thanks!  
**


	5. Calling Out

**Chapter 4**

**Calling Out**

_A/N- Woo! So, I've been busy, but I haven't forgotten about this story, not by a long shot. _

_I keep promising updates, but the last months of college were chaotic (I applied to transfer out of my college, which took up a huge chunk of my time and the rest had to be spent keeping up with my classes). Then I ended up deciding to stay at my current college, but at that point the year was pretty much done and I had end of year projects and papers to complete. So here I am, finally able to give you guys updates while I'm on summer break. _

_The chapters might be a bit short, but I'm trying to break some writer's block here so bear with me. _

_Thank you for your support and patience!_

_-Don ^_^_

* * *

As the rays of morning light struck the Academy's rooftops and scattered dots of light across the grounds, a shadow fell over the forestry. Had anyone been awake at the early hour, they would have noticed the distinct change in lighting.

But no one was about. The only beings awake were the little creatures scurrying across the jungle floor and disappearing into the foliage. The wind sighed and wound itself around the leaves of the trees as though it were brushing bangs from their faces.

The change in temperature had woken Anakin. He was the only one who noticed. He was usually awake and sometimes walking through the jungle at this hour, simply because it was the only time he was allowed to be alone. At all other times he would be under the close watch of his uncle or siblings because of his cold shoulder treatment of those around him.

He hated that everyone seemed to think he had problems. Just because he was different and didn't warm up to people like his brother and sister, everyone seemed to peg him as a case for scrutiny. If he wasn't a Jedi, he was certain his parents would have assigned someone to help fix whatever was wrong with him.

It was at the point where he could care less what anyone else thought. But, as it turned out, Zekk seemed to understand where Anakin came from. The older boy had nothing to lose, or so he told Anakin when he came to find the younger Jedi.

"There's nothing wrong with you, Anakin. It may seem like a bad thing, but not everyone wants to get close to you because they think there's something wrong with you," Zekk said. "I don't always want to accept that myself, but it's more or less the truth."

So Anakin had found himself an ally among a sea of Jedi who were supposed to be able to sense each other's emotions. But Anakin knew they didn't have a clue what he was feeling. And Zekk, who didn't use the force to figure out what was going on with Anakin, knew more than they did.

He heaved a sigh and slid out of bed. His feet cringed as they touched the floor. He couldn't understand why Tahiri was able to walk around barefoot on it. Maybe he wasn't the only one who was misunderstood. He shook his head. He had left things off with her on a weird note. He'd have to make it up to her somehow, but at the moment he wanted to be alone.

It wasn't anything new and if he were honest, he'd say he was honestly sick of wanting to be alone. It never did anything for him except to widen the gap he already sensed was growing between him and his family. He wasn't too concerned about hurting anyone who might or already thought they were his friends. No one who got close enough to know Anakin Solo would stick around too long to begin with.

Except for Tahiri Veila.

Now she was an enigma for Anakin. For the life of him he couldn't figure out what she wanted from him. Was it his family's connections? That couldn't be it. She didn't seem to know anyone famous from her own foot. It certainly surprised him that Uncle Luke had found her at all on that basis. She seemed like she could fit the profile of a regular country bumpkin who didn't know the difference between a Jedi or a Sith or even knew if the Rebellion took place at all.

Maybe it was it was for the best. It seemed odd that she took interest in him at all. She had nothing to gain by spending time around him, except for the occasional approving look from Luke Skywalker. The whole situation didn't add up for Anakin and he was used to things making sense.

He didn't believe for one second that her intentions were pure. No one's intentions were ever completely selfless and Anakin was determined to prove the same of Tahiri. But for now, he jumped over a tree root and tripped, staggering for a second and landed partly on the ground. He wasted no time in righting himself before dusting off his pant legs. Then he looked up. The forest was completely cast in darkness. And it only took him half a beat before he sensed something was off.

He began to run, or rather his legs began pumping faster and faster as the perspiration beaded on the back of his neck and on his forehead. He hadn't really expected to be doing morning running exercises so early in the morning, but, he thought to himself, there's a first time for everything.

He chanced a glance behind him, wondering for the first time since he began running, what it was that had prompted him to run. There wasn't anything there. Only the jungle vines, roots and trees. Still, though, the shadow over the tree tops remained. He stopped, caught his breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

The wind stirred the nearby bushes and the leaves swayed in place. Anakin looked up. Something struck him in the back of his leg and he went down for a second before he jumped back up. But his leg gave out. He grimaced for a second, looking down to see if it had begun bleeding. There was only a dark spot on the pant leg where whatever had hit him, burned a hole. He tried moving his leg and felt cold fear wash over him. It was a stun gun? He hadn't ever heard of one that just numbed the nerves of one region. He tried once more to move his leg but was sent into the dirt by another blast to his other leg. A third hit him in the back.

"Anakin!" The voice rang through the trees. He tried shaking his head and opened his mouth, but no words came.

"What are you doing to him?" The voice demanded, but another joined it before he could say anything more.

"Take him too."

Anakin tried moving his head, but a final blast rendered him unconscious.

* * *

Tahiri woke to the sound of birds chirping in the distance beyond the window. It wasn't something she was used to from the desert. If there was any chirping or sounds in the distance there she had learned that the best thing one could do was run and not listen for clarification. Yet here on Yavin 4 there was no such fear. In fact she felt quite at ease.

Her feet lightly touched down on the cold floor and she relished the feel for a second before she glanced up. Her Jedi senses were still dormant as her body woke itself up, but she felt something different this morning. After a moment of loud chirping the jungle had fallen silent.

Tahiri walked out of her room, looking around for signs of life in the halls, but everyone seemed to be slumbering away without a worry. If no one else was awake, why was she? She sighed, rubbing her eyes. By rights she knew she didn't and shouldn't be awake at this hour, but her body seemed more alert now than ever. It was driving her to keep walking.

The cold floor turned to gritty dirt and soil and she pushed branches from her line of vision. Still the sounds of the jungle seemed muted.

Her toes dug into the soil, it was cool and soothing against the rough pads of her feet. She shut her eyes and then winced. Her eyes went to her left foot where her biggest toe was bleeding. It had shifted back instinctively from the small object half buried in the dirt. She reached down and pulled it out.

"This is Anakin's-" Her own thoughts cut her voice off as her eyes snapped to the ground where there were scattered broken pieces of trees, bushes and a wide open view of the sky. She turned on her heel and sprinted back towards the Academy. She didn't need the force to know something bad had happened.


End file.
